by K. M. Morgan
Daisy McDare And The Deadly Art Affair
K.M. Morgan
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Prologue
Daisy McDare couldn’t believe her eyes. A murder had been committed just a few feet from where she was standing. She started to feel queasy, like she’d eaten week old egg salad.
Daisy had never set foot on a crime scene before. She didn’t even like watching police shows on television, no less stumbling into a real life murder investigation.
Amazingly enough, this was just the latest in a series of curveballs fate had thrown her way. Life could stop pulling the rug out from under Daisy anytime now. She was just an interior decorator.
Daisy avoided bad neighborhoods like she avoided tapioca pudding. She had no interest being around shady characters. Yet trouble went and found her anyway.
Luckily, Daisy was safely at home at the time of the murder, otherwise she might have met an untimely demise also. She felt so bad for the victim. A man’s life had been cut tragically short.
It had been a tense first day on the job for Daisy at the Longwell residence. She’d overheard plenty of infighting within the family. Tempers flared. There was a feeling things could boil over at any time. Still, Daisy never could have predicted a man would lose his life. She was dead wrong.
If that wasn’t enough to process, the killer was still on the loose. The police department was on the case however, and were determined to unmask the murderer.
As the police detective approached Daisy to question her, she knew it would be a long day. Fortunately for her, she’d packed plenty of chocolate chip cookies in her purse that morning in case she needed to take the edge off.
Chapter One
One Day Earlier
Daisy hated to think about what a wreck her life had become. Especially since just a few months ago, it seemed like everything was going so well for her.
At the beginning of the year, both her love life and her interior decorator business was thriving. She was smiling wide as thoughts of marriage danced in her head.
Then her life got messier than a Sloppy Joe eating contest. The turning point came when Daisy’s longtime boyfriend Brent Patterson dumped her for the local airheaded weather girl.
Two months and four dozen chocolate chip cookies later, Daisy was still reeling. She didn’t know what to do with herself. She was thirty-three years old and suddenly single once again. Both booze and baked goods were no match for her heartbreak.
That night Daisy couldn’t wait to get home. There had been an unexpected rain storm earlier that left her favorite pair of high heels waterlogged. She just wanted to get back into her apartment, change into her warm robe, and decompress. She also had a yen for something yummy too. The way Daisy saw it, she had a date with a margarita and a bag of yogurt-covered pretzels, and she couldn’t wait to get to it.
Instead, a doggie disaster was waiting for her when she walked in the door. Daisy’s trusty West Highland Terrier Shamus was usually so well behaved. Unfortunately, Shamus picked that night to be a misbehaving mutt.
Daisy had been flipping through a stack of bills from the mail when she saw Shamus had decided to do some redecorating of his own in her apartment. Papers were strewn around the living room, a pair of Daisy’s slippers had been gnawed on, and there was a considerable tear in the corner of her couch.
Shamus had a look on his face as if to say “How did that happen?” But while his paws pleaded innocence, Daisy knew the truth.
“Shamus, bad dog,” she said.
Even though she was annoyed that Shamus had trashed the apartment like a wayward rock star, Daisy had a weakness for her Westie’s puppy dog eyes. Besides, she couldn’t help but feel a little guilty herself.
The fact was, Shamus was a spunky dog with plenty of energy. Having to be cooped up all day inside while Daisy was at work didn’t suit him. Not to mention he wasn’t used to having all this pent up energy.
Normally Daisy took Shamus to the dog park in the morning before work. Unfortunately, her ex-boyfriend went to that very same park every morning. So instead of having an awkward train wreck of a run in with her ex, Daisy opted to take Shamus on short walks around the block recently.
Apparently those walks did not burn off enough of her Westie’s energy, leading Shamus to take his frustrations out on the defenseless couch. Now Daisy was faced with only two options—sacrifice more of her couch cushions to the altar of her dog’s frustrations, or suck it up and return to the dog park. She had until morning to make her decision.
In the meantime, there was a romantic comedy to watch, a broken heart to mend, and plenty of yogurt-covered pretzels to devour.
Chapter Two
There were some dreams Daisy didn’t want to wake up from. That night she had one of them. Daisy had a happily ever after kind of dream—one that played out much like a romantic comedy. If only reality could live up to that.
The problem with a really good dream was that Daisy didn’t want to wake up in the morning. When dawn came however, Shamus had a way of making sleeping in an impossibility. After hearing him bark up a storm, Daisy reluctantly dragged herself out of bed.
She had some serious grogginess to shake off. If that wasn’t enough, there was the looming dog park dilemma. As Daisy looked into her pup’s eyes, it was clear Shamus had already made the decision for her.
Usually on the drive over to the park, Daisy stared out at the beautiful scenery of her hometown. Cozy Creek was a quaint, Victorian-era tourist town nestled along the Pacific Coast. With a population of twenty-five thousand people, it was small enough to still feel homey, but not too big to feel crowded or sprawling.
Daisy had grown up there and couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. She loved the tree-lined streets, the little bistros and fashion boutiques, and the recently revitalized historic downtown district.
If there was one drawback of Cozy Creek, it was that the town had a nearly non-existent single’s scene. Good, eligible men were hard to find. Unfortunately, that was exactly what Daisy was in the market for.
Daisy had been bemoaning that fact for months. But right now at least, she had other pressing issues to tend to.
The entire drive over to the dog park, Daisy prayed that she wouldn’t run into Brent. Maybe he would sleep in that day. Perhaps luck would smile on Daisy.
The minute she arrived at the park, Daisy realized that was not the case. Not only was Brent there with his Scottish Terrier Angus, but he’d brought his new airheaded girlfriend Sunny Sky too.
Ugh.
Was it too late to turn around and head home? There was a fat chance of that happening, especially since her little Shamus was itching to run around.
To Shamus, running into Brent was ideal—mostly because that meant the little Westie would get to roll around in the dirt with his pup pal Angus. Daisy and Brent’s dogs got along famously. The Westie and Scottie duo couldn’t get enough of each other.
Daisy meanwhile felt sick to her stomach as she saw her ex.
“Daisy. What a surprise,” Brent muttered.
Heartbreak was always hard to swallow, but in this case, it was even more so. It was hard for Daisy not to compare her body with Sunny’s. In doing so, Daisy’s insecurity came out. It never used to be that way.
Daisy had always been taught there was nothing wrong with being a full-figured woman. She just had a little m
ore for men to love. Personally, Daisy liked the way she looked. People told her she had a cute face and a great smile. She had shoulder length honey blonde hair, and milk chocolate brown eyes. She got her share of attention from guys—at least the kind of men that weren’t into women that were as skinny as a toothpick.
One thing that burned Daisy beyond belief was the sudden ‘about face’ her ex had done. Daisy and Brent always had curves in common. Brent had a wildly handsome face, but a full-figured frame to go with it. He enjoyed food, as did Daisy. In their dating days, the two seemed to be perfect partners-in-pastries. Daisy had bought all of Brent’s lines about loving curves, yet there he was now dating a woman who looked like a stick figure with hair.
Daisy focused squarely on Brent’s new girlfriend. It was nearly impossible to contain how hurt she still was after all these months. Her heartbreak got the better of her and she let her emotions do the talking.
“Tell me about it. I can’t believe you brought Geraldine to our park,” Daisy replied.
“It’s Sunny Sky,” the weather girl said.
The truth was, Sunny Sky was nothing more than a stage name she’d picked out because it sounded more weather girl-ish. Her real name was Geraldine Higginsworth. And that’s exactly what Daisy was going to call her.
“Nice try Geraldine,” Daisy replied.
“I hate that name,” Sunny said.
“And I hated getting caught in the rain yesterday when you forecasted a hundred percent chance of sunny skies. Thanks to you, my favorite pair of heels is waterlogged,” Daisy revealed.
“Meteorology isn’t an exact science,” Sunny insisted.
Daisy scoffed. “You’re kidding yourself if you think I’m ever going to call you a meteorologist. Although I will say weather forecasting is the only job you can be a hundred percent wrong at and think you can get away with it because you’re wearing a short skirt.”
“Bitter much?” Sunny replied.
“Never mess with a woman’s favorite pair of heels,” Daisy said.
“You’ll get over it,” Sunny replied.
“What I won’t get over is how Brent could have left me for an airhead with a fake tan like you,” Daisy revealed.
Brent could see things getting out of hand in a hurry. He jumped into the conversation.
“Daisy, can I talk to you for a second?” he asked.
Daisy felt the need to fire one last shot at Sunny.
“By the way, who puts on full make up to go to the dog park?” Daisy asked.
***
Brent pulled Daisy aside.
He couldn’t contain his outrage. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I was just about to ask you the same thing. Why did you bring her to the dog park? This was our place,” Daisy insisted.
“We’re not a couple anymore. We don’t have a place.”
“You don’t have to rub it in.”
“Look, we broke up months ago. You gotta get over this. Move on already.”
“I’m sorry I’m not getting over my heartbreak fast enough for you. You may have moved on, but it’s not so easy for me. I gave you my heart. I thought that meant something. But I guess it didn’t mean as much to you as chasing a stick figure in a short skirt,” Daisy explained.
“You can’t talk about my girlfriend that way,” Brent warned.
Daisy shook her head in disbelief. “You have a lot of nerve. I’m sorry, but the minute you steamrolled my heart, you lost the ability to tell me what I can and can’t do.”
Brent opened his mouth to reply, but Daisy wasn’t having any of it. She realized continuing the conversation was only going to lead to more hurt, so she decided to tuck tail and run.
Daisy called to her dog. “Come on Shamus, we’re going home.”
As Daisy walked away, she was a hot mess of emotions. She tried to keep her composure until she made it to her car, but once she was out of Brent’s sight--all bets were off. This was just another why Daisy wasn’t a morning person.
Chapter Three
There were some situations only chocolate could solve. Luckily, Daisy happened to be friends with the best baker in town.
Samantha Johnson ran Sweet Tooth, Cozy Creek’s premier dessert destination. It didn’t matter that it was only eight o’clock in the morning. Daisy’s sugar cravings couldn’t be put off until the afternoon.
Daisy and Samantha were the best of friends and had known each other their entire lives. For a time at least, both of their lives seemed to both be looking up. Then Daisy’s love life became sour grapes.
Cupid had smiled on Samantha however. Samantha had found a man to truly appreciate her curves. It helped that her boyfriend Trevor Thompson was also in the food business. Either way, seeing Samantha so smitten over her boyfriend gave Daisy hope.
While Samantha and Daisy had a very similar in frame, their personalities were where things differed most. Samantha was more laid back. She had a ‘take things as they come and whatever will be’ attitude. It had worked well, becoming a calming influence not only for her, but her friends as well. In a lot of instances, Samantha provided the voice of reason for Daisy. Maybe this would be one of those times.
“I know what you need,” Samantha said.
“A chocolate lobotomy?” Daisy joked.
“It’s true you can never go wrong with chocolate, but I was thinking more along the lines of a date.”
“I think I’ll just stick with the chocolate. Double the fudge, double the results.”
“Just hear me out on this one. Trevor says there’s a new guy at his restaurant—a pastry chef. He just moved into town from Vancouver not too long ago. I was thinking maybe you could show him around town.”
“I’ll bet you were. Look at you playing Cupid. Well, I’ve already taken an arrow to the heart thanks to Brent. Why do you think cupcakes have become my best friend all of a sudden?” Daisy asked.
At the first mention of Brent, Granny Annie Johnson stopped plating cookies behind the counter and invited herself into the conversation.
“Forget about that deadbeat. He needs a swift kick in the caboose,” Granny Annie declared.
Granny Annie was the original owner of Sweet Tooth and had introduced most of its signature desserts. It was only recently that she handed off the shop to Samantha. But the shuffleboard and asleep by eight-thirty approach to retirement didn’t suit her, especially after her longtime husband died.
Even though Granny Annie was eighty, she was more active than ever. When she wasn’t putting in hours at the shop, she was volunteering and spending time with friends. She probably had a busier social calendar than Daisy and Samantha did combined.
She also hadn’t lost her spunk. If anything, over the years Annie had become far more vocal about her opinions. This time was no different.
Daisy cracked a smile, then sighed.
“I wish it was that easy,” Daisy said.
“Sure it is. The trash man comes by on Thursday. Kick all your thoughts about that no good ex of yours to the curb and carpe diem--seize the day, and the date,” Granny Annie continued.
“I’m with Granny on this one,” Samantha admitted.
“Don’t get me wrong. I want to move on. Sometimes it just isn’t as easy as it seems,” Daisy revealed.
“When life hands you a bowl of lemons, it isn’t every day that a pastry chef is there to turn it into a lemon meringue pie. And let me tell you, only a foolish woman turns down pie,” Granny Annie said.
Daisy smiled. “I’ve never heard a blind date sound so appetizing.”
“I’ll get it all set up then,” Samantha insisted.
“Wait. I didn’t say yes,” Daisy replied.
“It’s like my granny said, you’d be a fool to turn this down,” Samantha continued.
“I agree—when it comes to lemon meringue pie. A blind date is another thing entirely,” Daisy argued.
Samantha wasn’t going to take no for an answer. The decision had already been made for Daisy�
��she just didn’t realize it yet.
“The man is a pastry chef. What could possibly go wrong?” Samantha asked.
Chapter Four
Daisy’s mornings were rarely ever that eventful. She preferred to ease her way into the day instead of running into a brick wall of conflict right out of the gate. Despite all that was going in her personal life, she had to shove it aside all of a sudden. Her heartbreak and blind date doubts would have to wait until later.
There was work to be done. While Daisy’s love live often resembled a train wreck, she had a laser-liked focus when it came to her interior decorating.
Today’s job took her on a road trip of sorts. Whistling Wind was a forty-five minute drive from Cozy Creek. While Cozy Creek was right on the coast, Whistling Wind was inland and had an alpine setting. It was a picturesque town at the base of the mountains. Whistling Wind was a haven for outdoorsy types—bicyclists, mountain climbers, tree huggers, and nature lovers.
Daisy would probably be the only one in town not there for the fresh air. She’d been called in to redecorate the house of the renowned painter Luke Longwell. Luke was known for his figure paintings of the human body. More specifically, women’s bodies.
That’s how he ended up meeting his first wife. Then subsequently, how he met Kara Carruthers--the model he started having an affair with who had now become his second wife.
Kara was more than just Luke’s second wife however. She was also one of Daisy’s old friends. Kara and Daisy had grown up as next door neighbors in Cozy Creek. They played dress up, had tea parties together, and were the best of friends.
Then, just before Kara’s eleventh birthday, her father got a new job in Whistling Wind and moved the family away. Both Kara and Daisy were crushed. They vowed to stay close, but their friendship was strained after that. The distance took its toll. They drifted apart. As the years passed, neither stayed in touch as much as they would have liked.
